Alan R. Rowland

Alan R. Rowland rescued Isaac R. Smail from burning, Puxsutawney, Pennsylvania, December 30, 1974. When fire broke out at night on the second floor of a brick building, Smail, 94, left his third-floor apartment and tried to escape. Rowland, 19, college student, climbed to a balcony at the second-floor level and entered the building, where conditions were worsening rapidly. Flames were spreading onto the stairway which Rowland ascended to the third floor. Although smoke limited visibility, he located Smail and then carried him down the burning stairs. Rowland took Smail onto the balcony, where they waited until firemen arrived. Smail was hospitalized for burns but recovered.